Madrid, Spain (CNN) -- The Basque separatist group ETA said Monday it was declaring a permanent cease-fire.
In a statement released to the Basque newspaper Gara -- where it typically releases information -- ETA said it declares a permanent general and verifiable cease-fire as a "firm commitment towards a process to achieve a lasting resolution and towards an end to the armed confrontation".
There was no immediate reaction from the Spain's Socialist government, which has repeatedly called for ETA to unilaterally announce a definitive end to its decades of separatist violence, blamed for more than 800 deaths, and a pledge to lay down its weapons.
ETA wants Basque independence in northern Spain and southwest France. Various Basque leftist parties -- including the Batasuna party, outlawed for its links to ETA -- as well as four Nobel peace laureates and the Nelson Mandela Foundation also have called in recent months for the organization to establish a permanent and verifiable cease-fire.
The latest statement comes after weeks of speculation in Spain that ETA would issue a statement during the holiday season. CNN
